


After All These Years

by SereneCalamity



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Billy makes the first move, F/M, M/M, Nancy is a scary friend, Past Relationship(s), Young Adults, background Nancy Wheeler/Jonathan Byers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-14
Updated: 2018-08-14
Packaged: 2019-06-27 06:26:57
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,622
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15679842
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SereneCalamity/pseuds/SereneCalamity
Summary: Maybe after all this time, things could be different.





	After All These Years

**Author's Note:**

> Title of this story and inspiration for it comes from All These Years by Camila Cabello.  
> Disclaimer: I do not own the characters.

Billy Hargrove really wasn't the best guy in town.

In fact, he was definitely on the list of the  _worst_  guys in town.

He was twenty-three, had been in and out of prison since he was fifteen, chain smoked from the time he woke up in the morning to when he went to bed, drove his 1979 Chevrolet Camaro through town without any regard to the speed limit, worked in a car garage with a group of men who were even scarier than him and had apparently gotten three girls pregnant in his last year of high school.

Steve Harrington knew for the  _fact_  that that last part wasn't true, because all through the last year of high school and half way through the year before, Billy wasn't fucking any girl.

In fact, half the time, he wasn't even  _doing_  the fucking.

They hadn't been anything official, because Billy had always been too scared to come out to his dad. His father already sent him to school with enough black eyes and split lips, and Billy had heard the way he had talked about a couple of the men in town who were gay, and there was no way Billy was risking the wrath— _more_  of the wrath—of his father. It had been the point of many arguments between them, since Steve was more than happy and open about being interested in both males and females, but at the end of the day, it wasn't up to him to him to decide when Billy was going to be ready. So whatever it was that they had, Steve had ended it when he had left high school and moved away.

Steve, Jonathon Byers and Nancy Wheeler all decided to take a year off before they went to college. The Wheelers hadn't been too happy about their daughter deciding to globe trot with two men before going to college, but Nancy was stubborn and she was doing what she wanted, and so they had left two days after they graduated.

Steve had tried to say goodbye to Billy, but it really hadn't gone all that well.

It had been nearly five years since then, Steve only returning a couple of times to Hawkins and spending most of that time with his parents or with Jonathan and Nancy and the kids, who he got on with surprisingly well. He stayed for longer in the holidays when he was on break at University, but he had only moved back to Hawkins four months ago. It had always been the plan that he was going to work for his dad and eventually take over the family business, but his father had always wanted him to get some experience and a degree under his belt, and Steve knew that was a good idea.

It felt strange being back in Hawkins.

It was even stranger seeing Billy on an almost weekly basis.

It was nowhere near as often as it had been when they were younger, when they would see each other everyday they were in school. But they would see each other around town; at the movie theatre, at one of the bars, at the grocery store, just walking through the town or in their cars, driving near the woods.

They had spoken once.

Billy had come to Steve's house—he still wasn't too sure how Billy had found out where he lived, but it was a small town, and people talked—and he was absolutely drunk. Falling down and slurring his words drunk. Steve hadn't known how to react, and he had Dustin Henderson and Lucas Sinclair inside, and he didn't want to them to have to see this, or to have Billy embarrassed in front of people who didn't really know him. Billy hadn't been making sense and when he had leaned in to try and kiss him, Steve had pushed him away.

He had loved Billy with everything he had and he had been left hurt and alone.

Steve had called Jonathan, who had showed up with Nancy and they had managed to manhandle Billy into the car and get him home.

It had been two and a half months since then.

Steve wasn't sure what Billy was doing after all these years. He knew where he worked and he knew that he still got in trouble, but he wasn't sure if he was still keeping up the rouse of dating females while he was really only interested in men. He also didn't want to ask. On one hand, he really hoped Billy was being true to himself, because even if the guy was an asshole, Steve still cared deeply for him and he wanted him to be happy. But then on the other hand, he had always hoped that it would be Billy's feelings for  _him_  that would help push him to come out to his father, and if some other lucky guy got to walk around town holding Billy's hand proudly, then he couldn't help but be a little jealous.

But at the end of the day, Billy was his past and what he did now was none of his business.

That's what Steve  _tried_  to tell himself, despite the feelings that still tugged at his stomach, all these years later.

"He's here," Nancy's voice was low, and even with all the chaotic noise going on around them, Steve was able to hear because she leaned in close and spoke into his ear. Steve knew who she was talking about before even looking around and he tried to roll his shoulders, shake the nerves off.

"It's a small town," Steve replied as he straightened up. "Do you want a drink?" He asked, trying to change the subject. Jonathan raised an eyebrow but didn't say anything and Nancy pursed her lips together, staring at Steve for a few more beats before looking up at the boards above the bar with the drinks listed.

This was one of the first times that the three of them had been able to go out through the weekends since they had gotten back. Jonathan had never stopped trying to look after his mother and brother, and so he always offered to take the weekend shift at the electrician company where he worked, since the money was a bit better. But his boss had recently drawn a line and said he needed to go out and have a weekend off. The three of them had decided to go to a club that had opened in Hawkins back when they were in high school, but had definitely improved a lot since then. It was bigger, had better music, a wider variety of drinks and they had added actual space to dance. Before they had claimed it was a club, but it was more like a bar.  _Now_  it was like a club.

"I wanna dance!" Nancy said after their third round of drinks. Jonathan made a face, but over the past couple of years, Nancy and Steve had managed to drag him out of his shell a bit, and while the guy had no rhythm, he  _did_  like dancing, even though he put up a fight.

"Come on, Jonny boy," Steve clapped his hands down on Jonathan's shoulder and earned a groan. "I'll order us some shots before we go out there," he compromised with a grin. Johnathan still had a sour look on his face but Steve ignored it, heading to the bar to order them a round of tequila shots. He hadn't seen Billy since they had gotten there, so maybe he had left since Nancy had seen him, which was a relief. Steve was planning on getting drunk tonight, maybe hooking up a pretty girl or guy, try and take his mind off a boy that he had never been able to call his, and Billy being there would have thrown that  _whole_ thing off.

He paid for the shots and took the three of them back to the able. The group threw them back and then Nancy and Steve dragged Jonathon out of the booth and toward the dance floor. It was already crowded, so they managed to get somewhere in the crowd where Jonathan didn't feel as though the people on the outside were looking at him and judging him and then they danced. They danced through song after song, and Nancy ducked out to get drinks and Steve put his arms around Jonathan and pulled him in close. Jonathan laughed as Steve brought their hips together, used to how touchy-feely Steve could be, and when Nancy came back and they finished the shots she had brought, she wiggled her way between them and danced with both of them. Steve had a good buzz going on, hanging with his two best friends and the alcohol warm in his veins, and so when he felt two hands land on his hips, he didn't fight it. They were big and Steve could tell they belonged to a guy, even before he stepped backwards so that his ass was pressed into the guys lap. They gripped a little tighter than he preferred, but maybe the guy was nervous or didn't know his own strength.

Then Jonathan stopped dancing and his eyebrows pulled together in a scowl. Nancy seemed confused and then turned around to look at Steve, and her face transformed into a thundercloud.

"Nope!" Nancy cried out, pulling away from Jonathan. "Nope, nope, nope!" She was tiny, but she could be scary, and she grabbed Steve's arms and jerked him forward. Steve frowned, and he turned around and saw that it was  _Billy_  standing there.

"I just want to talk," Billy stated, holding up his hands, palms out, in front of him.

"That didn't look like talking," Nancy waved her hand between Billy and Steve, still scowling, and if Steve hadn't been so thrown by Billy getting so up close and personal with him, he would have laughed. She reminded him of a mama bear. "This looked like a  _whole_  lot more than talking!" She swayed a little, and Jonathan looped an arm around her waist, steadying her.

"Nance..." Jonathan's voice was quiet but steady, trying to calm down his girlfriend.

"I  _just_  want to talk," Billy repeated, a slight pleading tone to his voice, looking at Steve. Steve pursed his lips together and then glanced around, realizing they had drawn a bit of attention from the dancers around them.

"It's fine," he muttered, looking over at Nancy and Jonathan. Jonathan nodded although Nancy stayed where she was, not looking happy at all. "It's okay, Nancy," he repeated and her shoulders slumped a little and she let Jonathan tug her away. They moved away a few steps, and another couple moved to dance between where the couple was and where Billy and Steve were, but Nancy was still glaring at them over, not paying much attention to Jonathan. Steve took in a deep breath and looked at Billy.

It sucked, but he looked good.

Even better than he had in high school.

He was a bit more muscular, he had cut his hair shorter and grown out a bit of facial hair which really suited him.

"I'm not in the mood to talk," Steve stated. Billy shifted from foot to foot and then jerked his head in a nod. "So hurry up and say what you want so I can get back to my friends." Billy nodded again, licking his lips quickly.

"I...I was thinking we could go out some time. And catch up," Billy told him and Steve raised an eyebrow before letting out a short laugh.

"Go out and catch up?" Steve asked. "On what?" Billy gritted his teeth together and pursed his lips together.

"On...Everything," he said, although it sounded like he was biting the words out. Steve took in a deep breath and looked around before his eyes settled back on Billy. This would be a hell of a lot easier if Billy still didn't have that mouth-watering, week-kneed effect on him.

"Look, Billy...I don't want to talk," Steve managed to say. "I don't think we have anything to talk about. It's not like we were  _friends_  before. That sounds like an asshole thing to say, but it's true. I know we're back in the same town, but it would just be easier if we kept to ourselves, okay?"

"Easier?" Billy asked with a frown.

"Yes, easier," Steve's eyes were wide as he made a disbelieving face at Billy. "Of course, easier! You coming over here and, I don't know, wanting to catch up and be pals or something, it's not easy. Not with the way I felt about you—not with the way I'm pretty sure I'll  _always_  feel about you," the words came out in a snap and a bit louder than he had intended them to and a few people looked over at them. Steve sighed, trying to compose himself, and looked back at Billy.

Who was  _smiling_.

"So maybe we could do more than talk then?" He asked hopefully.

"Oh, no, no, no," Steve shook his head. "I'm not going to become your little secret again, like in high school. I'm an adult now, and I'm not interested in being someone that you're never going to take out in public or introduce to your family or treat like your partner rather than just a hook up—" Steve was cut off because Billy leaned forward and pressed their lips together.

In the middle of the dance floor.

In the middle of  _the club_.

In  _public_.

Steve blinked a few times, completely caught off guard before his hands came up and gripped Billy's jacket and he kissed him back. It had been way too long since he had kissed Billy, and he had forgotten how good the other man was. The way he smelt, the way he tasted, the way he bit down on Steve's lower lip and sucked on his tongue sent sparks shooting down his arms and his toes curl in the shoes he was wearing. When they pulled apart, they were both breathing hard, and then Billy's lips curled upward in a smirk.

"I came out to my dad the day after you left with Nancy and Jonathan," Billy said quietly, his breaths warm against Steve's lips. "I kept waiting for you to come back, but you never did." Steve had always kept a low profile when he had come back in the holidays to visit his parents, and apparently, it had worked. "And then I wanted to come and see you and talk to you when you first came back..." he winced and Steve remembered that night he had drunkenly showed up. "I was nervous I ended up drinking way too much, and then I was too embarrassed to try again..." he took in a deep breath, and then lifted his hands to cup Steve's face, his calloused hands rough and comforting against his cheeks. "But it's you, Steve...It's always been you. It's always going to  _be_  you." Steve's heart was thumping in his chest, and he was surprised to feel pressure behind his eyes.

This was the most Billy had ever talked.

Maybe he had matured and changed.

Although, hopefully...Not changed  _too_  much.

He was already damn perfect in so many ways.

"I don't want to be friends," Billy agreed with his earlier statement. "I want to be a hell of a lot more than that...If you let me," he concluded, looking nervous and swallowing hard. Steve stared up at him, nodding.

"Yeah...Yeah, I think we can work something out," he agreed before their mouths came together again.

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you think :)


End file.
